An exhibition showcasing printmaker and pattern designer Amelia Bowman’s work alongside sculptor Janet Bowman, illustrator Ella Goodwin and photographer Gavin Robbie takes place in Wymondham in mid to late-April.

We’ll be attending and we hope you will too. You can find out more below as we meet the artists.

Amelia Bowman

www.ameliabowman.co.uk |  amy@ameliabowman.co.uk  | Facebook: Amelia Fair Illustration

I graduated from Norwich School of Art and Design in 2003 and went into digital illustration as well as working part time in secondary education. I first learned about the process of collagraphy in 2006 and was instantly hooked! Later I reinvented my digital illustration skills in the form of pattern design and thus my work now combines two very different creative disciplines: intaglio printmaking and digital pattern design.

I use my pattern designs as ‘chine-collé’ – an additional process involving the lamination of extra layers of paper onto each print as it is passed through the press – a beautiful vintage mangle-press I converted myself! I keep my editions small and name each one after the pattern designs featured. In 2013 I became a member of The Norwich Print Fair and was taken on by Green Pebble Publishing as one of their greetings card artists – an amazing year!

Although my native East Anglian coastline is prominent in my work I am beginning to venture further afield and to explore inland scenery.

I currently stock a number of outlets around Norfolk and Suffolk with original prints, posters, postcards and gifts. Details of these outlets and upcoming events can be found on my website (above). I am also happy to sell direct and welcome enquiries relating to the commercial use of my designs.

Gavin Robbie

www.gavinrobbie.com | gav_robbie@yahoo.com  | Facebook: Gavin Robbie Photography

I am a photographer based in Norfolk. I developed an interest in photography following a desire to record my time when I lived in Canada in 2006. Since then my passion for photography has grown and developed, focusing mainly on the landscape and features around me here in Norfolk.

I haven’t liked to pin myself down to one particular style of photography. I love to be outside in the wide open landscapes and big skies of Norfolk, but at the same time I also like to zoom in on some of the finer details – the way the light falls through the trees or the way water flows around a rock in a stream.

As my photography skills have evolved, I have become increasingly interested in long-exposure and night photography. A joke I often share with my wife (Amelia Bowman) and other artists is that they have a seemingly unfair advantage over photographers – artistic license means that features can be emphasised or hidden to suit the piece or style of work. However, as a photographer, through long exposure I can challenge the old adage that a camera never lies. Keeping post-capture digital manipulation to a minimum, I use long exposure to alter the way the scene is experienced – smoothing turbulent waters, making clouds appear as dynamic features streaking across the sky and saturating colours and light.

My work is available in a range of sizes and come framed or unframed.

Janet Bowman

www.janetbowman.co.uk | janetfbowman@gmail.com

I am a sculptor based in Norfolk, who works with clay and wax to produce original pieces that are then cast in bronze resin.  I also produce in glazed and fired clay.  My work focuses primarily on life-size animal studies inspired by many trips abroad on wildlife holidays traveling by boat, jeep and even elephant back!  I started sculpting in 1993 following a period as a botanical watercolourist exhibiting with The Society of Botanical Artists.  Although now three dimensional, my work continues to be inspired by nature, focusing these day on the fauna rather than the flora of our planet.  I exhibit my work throughout East Anglia and in London.

In addition to wildlife sculpting, I was also commissioned to complete a number of commemorative pieces for the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.  Many of these pieces have been cast in the original copper from the hull of HMS Victory and have been sold in retail outlets across the country and through worldwide mail order.  Limited edition life size busts of Nelson and Emma Hamilton mounted on HMS Victory oak became iconic of the 1805 Collection, and in 2010 two pairs made £10,000 per pair at auction on board HMS Victory.

 All enquiries regarding both gallery showcasing and personal purchase are very welcome.

Ella Goodwin

www.ellagoodwin.co.uk | ellajanegoodwin@gmail.com | Facebook: Ella Goodwin Illustration

As an only child growing up spending time in different countries I spent a lot of time in the whimsical landscapes of my imagination inspired by Italian mountains and Sicilian Volcanoes, Zimbabwean skies and the crafts I filled my time with.  I worked as a costume maker and digital embroiderer in London initially until moving into animation and character design.

I went on to study Animation to a Masters Level gaining a Distinction at Norwich University of the Arts. Since graduation I have designed and illustrated iPad Apps, Children’s educational materials, animated sites for education, museums, galleries, bands and entertainers.

The last few years have seen me focus on illustration with a passion for visual storytelling and whimsical illustration often highly detailed using traditional and digital mediums. Apart from the obvious feline themes, much of the work is based around the power of making and doing for change. I am also an active member of the SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators).

 I sell my work online at ShopMissElla.etsy.com where you can buy prints, cards, accessories and homewares and I teach Illustration and Graphic Design part time at IDI (Interactive Design Institute). Please contact me at the email address above to discuss commissions, place orders or make any wholesale enquiries.

Ella lives, makes and illustrates in a kitsch fairytale  filled nook in Norwich and dreams of having a Wendy House.